Shifter Bushing Tool Problems & Fix 1985 300D
I bought the KTC Auto Tools A1333 plier tool on ebay and shifter bushings from PeachParts (PN 115-992903010), as shown below. It is claimed to work on my car. It wasn't as easy as some youtube videos. I give a simple fix here.
At the front, I couldn't orient the tool until after I removed the neutral safety switch (2 bolts) and even then it was very tight. The bushing didn't sit tight on the tool's post and kept falling off. I even lost one (apparently fell in a cavity in car body). The bushing wouldn't press into the hole despite squeezing so hard I thought I would snap the pliers, wiggling, rotating, cussing, silicone grease, soaking in boiling water, or microwave. It got buggered up so much, I finally slit it as others have done and pressed it in with large pliers. I did move the shift lever on the tranny to drop it closer. I didn't see how to remove the shift lever from the tranny, as others have. I understand my 1985 CA tranny is the 1986+ PN, but I doubt that matters since the shifter appeared the same as other photos.
I should have started w/ the rear bushing (driver shifter), since it was much easier to access. I could then see the problem was that the bushing seat on the tool was too small, so the bushing would splay out around the seat when pressed. I found a washer that fit perfectly (in photo). It is marked "MCX" and thicker than normal, so probably a "spacer" from the drawers at Ace Hardware (0.875"OD x 0.375" ID x 0.105"th). With the washer as backer, and a little wiggling, the bushing popped in fairly easily.
I only bought the tool because I thought I might be changing these in a parking lot at my son's university. He was very alarmed because he heard rattles and couldn't get it in park. After I told him to use the parking brake (always) and start it in neutral, that let him drive around until he was able to bring the car home. Anyway, it turns out that without the tool, it would have been very hard without slitting the bushings. Perhaps very long needle nose pliers and a spacer would work. I suggest washing the area around the tranny shifter first since I got pretty gunky working in that tight area.
The other issue is removing the metal clips off the rod. MS sells a tool, but I just shoved a long, thin screwdriver into the rear of the U, which opened the clip enough to slide it off the rod. Ditto for re-installing the clip.
Last edited by BillGrissom; 05-31-2014 at 06:58 PM.
|